2015 NAIAS: 2016 Mazda CX-3

For anyone who thought Mazda’s CX-5 was as small as SUV’s needed to be, there is a surprise in the CX-3. Small crossovers, such as the Buick Encore, prove there is room to go smaller in the segment. The CX-3 draws on styling cues first presented by the fresh Mazda3 and Mazda6. SKYACTIVE-G is Mazda marketing lingo attached to the brand’s 2.0-liter gasoline engine that will be mated to a standard 6-speed automatic transmission. All wheel drive is optional and features a front wheel slip warning system that detects slippage of the front wheels and redirects the car to the intended direction based on initial driver input. Sounds to us like Mazda is spending a lot of investment in technology to make an all wheel drive car handle like it is rear wheel drive. It all sounds promising, but Americans will have to wait until fall to try the system out for themselves.